Claytonia virignica (Virginia Spring Beauty)

SKU:

$12.00

$12.00

Unavailable

New for 2016.

Finally, it's here. This is the very first wildflower I noticed when we came to the mountains more than 25 years ago. I'd never seen this one before and ran to get my wildflower book to identify it. Back then, and even today, each spring I return to the spot where I first discovered it and anticipate the arrival of this "Spring Beauty" with as much enthusiasm as ever. This native wildflower is not as tall or showy as Trilliums and Virginia Bluebells, for example, but it's every bit as beautiful and endearing as any wildflower and can certainly hold its own. "Spring Beauty" only grows from three to six inches. Its leaves are narrow and grass-like and a bit succulent. The one-half inch, five-petaled white flowers are not white at all. You may need to bend down and examine the fragrant flower closely to get a full appreciation for the scent and the light pink to bright pink striations that adorn each petal. These blooms stand wide open on sunny days but on cloudy days and at night, they remain closed. If you spot "Spring Beauty" in your woodland garden, you'll know for sure that spring has arrived. Like many of our favorite wildflowers, It blooms for much of spring but fades away in mid-summer. It prefers dappled sunlight and rich, moist to dry soil. It spreads by seed and by tiny corms and, if you're very fortunate, it will colonize. (Photo by Dcrjsr (Own work) [CC BY 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons)